Hugs and Puppies All Around
by Chibi Kitsune1
Summary: Set in episode 7x23: "Survival of the Fittest". Dean realizes something while observing their resident Angel and Demon. One-shot. Dean's POV and thoughts. Rating due to language.


**Hugs and Puppies All Around**

Disclaimer: Author owns nothing.

Summary: Set in episode 7x23: "Survival of the Fittest". Dean realizes something while observing their resident Angel and Demon.

Dean Winchester popped the cap from beer bottle as he pushed the fridge's door closed with his foot.

_What a perfect frigging day_, he thought as he took a swig of cold beer. His brother was almost strangled to death by Bobby, whose ghost is probably a wandering vengeful spirit at the moment, and now they also have to figure out how to tell the Dick Roman clones apart without the help of the only one who can tell them apart.

He leaned back on the kitchen counter and looked around the cabin. Sam sat at the kitchen table. His brow was furrowed as his eyes concentrated on the laptop. On the couch, with their backs to him, were Meg and Cas. His eyes narrowed at that cosy little pairing.

It never really felt right to him to team up with a demon again. After the Sam-and-Ruby fiasco, he thought that he would be damned if he let another one of Lucifer's children into their lives again. And yet, here they were. Another person he considered a brother was tangled up with a demon. And Dean was the one who let her in this time.

It could be said that it was a desperate measure to accept Meg's faulty alliance. But unlike Ruby, Meg never hid her true reason for helping them. She was right to call herself simple. With her, there was no clandestine complicated plan. She needed a place to hide because Crowley put a price on her ass and they needed someone strong enough to watch over a catatonic angel.

Then the damned angel woke up and imprinted on the demon! Dean sighed. He couldn't really blame Meg. She was, after all, the first thing Cas saw when he woke up. Much like how a newly-hatched duckling follows the first object that moves, Cas follows Meg around like a love-sick puppy. A loony, trench-coat-wearing, bee-loving puppy.

He was not thrilled to find out about Cas' new found devotion to his demon caretaker. And devoted is exactly what Cas was at the moment. The freaking angel called Meg, of all people, when they had been separated while escaping from the loony bin. Dean was certain Cas had his and Sam's phone numbers too. And then, when he finally joined them, the first lucid words Cas spoke was in concern for Meg. That was a bizarre conversation they had right there. Cas was explaining the situation and his garrison and then he would turn to Meg to speak to her about something totally unrelated. Once his attention was directed at her, he seemed to ignore everything else. As if he couldn't help himself, he was simply drawn to and fixated on her. Dean had to yell to get Cas to focus on something else other than the little demon beside him.

Later that night when they had Meg ensnared in the Devil's trap, Cas was clearly uncomfortable and had jumped to her defence at the first opportunity. The way he smiled when Meg talked about not wanting to lose him was unsettling. He was growing so attached to her that even Crowley, who had just walked into that situation that morning, noticed the undeniable protective stance Cas had around Meg. Despite his claim to no longer participate in aggressive activity, he looked quite willing to break his rules and tussle with Crowley when he threatened Meg. Crowley would not have walked in on them if Meg didn't find it necessary to bring Cas to Sam and Dean.

That was another thing. Cas discovers that the prophet was missing and his garrison were all dead, and his first reaction was to seek out Meg? The Winchester brothers weren't hiding from him, in fact he popped in on Dean in the Impala while covered with bees, so Cas certainly knew where to find them if he wanted to. Well, apparently Cas wanted to be with his demon. What was that he said? _Thorny pain. So beautiful._

_Oh, she's a pain alright._ Dean snorted softly. He noticed that Meg had turned to look at him from the couch and was now glaring at him as if she heard what he was thinking. He looked back at her insolently. She ignored him and turned her attention back to the magazine in her hands.

What was she getting out of that dysfunctional relationship anyway? According to Sam, when he asked her what she would need a broken angel for, she told him she was willing to take power where she can get it. She was just looking out for herself.

But Dean had been watching her closely since they got to the loony bin to check on the re-awakened Cas. He had been watching for signs of treachery. One hint of betrayal and he was going to kill her. Instead, what he saw surprised him. Despite her snarky attitude towards him and Sam, Meg actually seemed gentle when it came to Cas.

Meg. Gentle. Two words Dean never thought he would use together. But there was no other word he could think to use. Meg _was_ gentle with the loopy angel. She watched him with slight amusement on her face when he was blowing out light bulbs. And when she talked to Cas, her tone was always mild and calm. She never raised her voice except for that one time when she was arguing with Dean. Cas disappeared suddenly but she knew exactly where to find him.

Dean thought back on that car ride when Cas called her from the dog tracks. Her voice was soft and tender and there was a smile on her lips when she answered the phone. He wouldn't have believed it was the demon speaking until she ordered Dean to shut up, but when she was talking to Cas again, her voice was back to being sweet and soothing. And the funny thing was that when she introduced the angel to Kevin, she didn't use any of her clever little nicknames. She called him Castiel. Not Clarence or Cas. Castiel. Goosebumps still rose from Dean's skin when he recalled the way she said his name. Castiel. It was like an endearment, gently rolling from her tongue.

Something weird was going on here. When Cas asked her if she was hurt, Meg sounded annoyed when she told him to shut up. But from the rear view mirror, Dean saw a little flash in her eyes he didn't really know how to interpret. And later that night when Cas told them that Hester and the angel garrison were on their way towards the cabin, she seemed to instinctively move to Cas' side. She may have spinelessly disappeared when the angels showed up but she came in right in time to stab Hester when the furious angel started beating up Cas. She claimed it was just something someone had to do, but something wasn't settling right in Dean's mind. She could stay away and flee halfway across the world, but instead she returned to save Cas. Was Meg being protective of Cas?

Speaking of being protective, earlier that day, when Cas showed his intention of shielding her from Crowley, there was that flash in her eyes again. Dean couldn't think of any other word to explain it except _delight_. Meg looked like she was _delighted_ to be under Cas' protective wings. Could it be that she was just enjoying the fact that she was under his protection and he was under hers?

It was more than just a little confusing to Dean but he had to admit that Cas' infatuation with the demon had some benefits. The angel stuck around partly because Meg couldn't really leave the safety of the cabin with Crowley's threat on her head. And Meg seemed to be the one person Cas listened to. She finally convinced him that no one wanted to play Twister and so Cas just sat quietly beside her on the couch while she immersed herself in her lewd magazine. And from Meg, they got a few insights into the screwed up brain of the angel. It was her, after all, that realized that Cas can tell the Leviathans apart.

So there they sat. Angel and Demon. They were facing the window and it was now dark enough outside for Dean to have a clear image of them from their reflection on the glass. While Dean watched, Cas raised his hand toward Meg's hair, as if to pick at an invisible lint or insect. She swatted his hand away without looking up from her magazine. He looked at her at smiled sheepishly. After a few seconds, she turned to stare at him balefully. Then, with a sigh, she raised her legs and put them on top of the coffee table. She patted her lap, and Cas happily stretched out on the couch laying his head on Meg's lap. The angel was too large for the couch so his knees were bent on the arm of the couch and his legs dangled cheerfully. His eyes closed and he interlaced his fingers on top of his chest. This homey little arrangement must have been a regular occurrence because Meg absently threaded her fingers in the angel's hair, still not looking up from her magazine. Cas sighed contentedly.

_Son of a bitch._

Dean had been watching Meg's face when they shifted positions on the couch. At first, her face was impassive, even uncaring. But when Cas made that happy little sighing sound, Meg's eyes looked down at his face on her lap. Dean would have missed it if he blinked but he could have sworn that for a few seconds, her face softened into an expression that Dean could only describe as...

_Well, hell._ Was Meg having feelings for Cas? Was that even possible?

He drained the contents of the bottle without taking a breath and slammed the bottle into the garbage bin. Sam looked up from the laptop and raised his brows questioningly. Dean shook his head. They will have to deal with that angel and demon situation once Dick Roman is dead.

The End...

A.N. This was written before I saw "Goodbye Stranger". I wasn't very keen on publishing this because I wasn't sure if Meg could actually feel something for Castiel but now we all know that she does. Did you notice how Dean seems to know something about our favorite Angel and Demon? I kinda thought maybe this was it. :-)


End file.
